Microsoft Is Bringing Real Madrid Fans Closer To Players

Typically, fans collect trading cards or stickers of their favorite sports stars. But to really put fans at the center, Microsoft reversed the roles and asked fans to send their cards to the players. Microsoft created the first-ever digital “fan sticker album” by uploading their photo to www.connectyourpassion.com. Thousands of fans from over 100 countries came together to complete the album, which can now be seen online.

On March 12, Microsoft brought together 12 lucky participants of the album who had the chance to interview three of the Real Madrid players in a Q&A session live via Skype. The players interacted with fans as their “12th player” – signifying the importance of the fans during the entire game to show their support.

The fans made their Skype calls from their home countries of China, Mexico, Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom, Venezuela, Colombia, Portugal and Spain.

Real Madrid has millions of fans around the world, but many of them will never have the chance to see their beloved team play in person. That doesn’t make them any less enthusiastic in following the team, named the “best club of the 20th century” by FIFA, as it carries on in the 21st century.

One of the top aims of the Microsoft and Real Madrid partnership, announced last November, was to put Real Madrid’s fans “at the center” of the sport, and to use technology to revolutionize “the way in which ‘Madridistas’ follow their team and share their passion for the club,” writes Orlando Ayala, Microsoft corporate vice president and chairman of Emerging Markets, on The Official Microsoft Blog.